Outplayed

It's cold here people. I mean Alaska cold. Maybe even Sweden cold. Two weeks of winter break has turned into three weeks due to frigid weather and snow. I heard on the news that it is colder in Arkansas than it is in Anchorage, Alaska this week. You would think my Swedish genes would somehow prepare me for this, but I'm afraid nothing helps when the wind chill is -30 degrees F. I was fairly productive those first few days of this week--cooking, cleaning and organizing Henry's stuff and taking a load of toys, clothing and coats to the Salvation Army, but now I'm in full veg-mode. Movies, TV, Internet. I set my alarm this morning for 7:00, thinking I would try to prepare my body for getting up at 5:45 on Monday and then proceeded to snooze until almost 8:00 when Henry got up.

Liberty Bowl
Memphis, Tennessee

The Liberty Bowl in Memphis was cold too. Not quite this cold, but too cold for Henry to last the whole game even though we put him in his snowsuit. He was begging to go back to the hotel. We had to take him to the car shortly after Eddie Money's halftime performance. The mascot, Tusk, died the day after the game and I have to wonder if the elements had something to do with his death. My feeling is that the Hogs got outplayed by Eastern Carolina. But as Hog fans we will take any kind of victory we can get. Especially in a bowl game. So many times we have been the team that had the lead and deserved to win and then lost it in the last few minutes. (Florida and LSU come to mind.) And I'm really excited about next year with Ryan Mallett coming back. (Not so excited about playing Alabama though, after seeing them win on Thursday night. They are going to be good next year too.) As for basketball, the Arkansas vs. Texas game was encouraging. Maybe with Fortson back we can win a few SEC games. Note: Candy apple red is NOT cardinal red. If you were there you know exactly what I mean.

I borrowed my first book on Playaway from the library. It's the size and shape of an MP3 player loaded with Graceling by Kristen Cashore. You just hook up your own headphones and begin listening. Is listening to a book cheating? What are your feelings on audio books? I think they are great for certain occasions. I listened to a book over Thanksgiving while putting up all my Christmas decorations. It helped make an unpleasant task go by quickly. I would love to share some of my favorite reads of this year. Maybe tomorrow a post about books.

BTW, Jay is not engaged. It was just a Facebook joke.